Cat
Cat (also known as Byakko or Bai Hu) is a summoning magic spell ability used as a sub-weapon by Maria Renard in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Portrait of Ruin, and by Soma Cruz in Castlevania: Aria or Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow with a Student Witch's soul. The ability summons a cat that runs along the floor damaging any enemy that gets in its way, until it hits a wall or exits the screen. This cat is a miniature version of Bai Hu, a white tiger with black stripes from Chinese mythology. The item crash for the cat unleashes the great Byakko himself, which has different incarnations depending on the game. Appearances ''Castlevania: Rondo of Blood A white black striped cat leaps from Maria's arms and runs along the ground, charging at any enemies in its path. If it strikes an enemy, it is stunned for a second, then leaps a little and continues moving forward. After a while it disappears. If it runs into a ledge, it will be stunned and then try to jump over it if it is small enough. It is found at the same locations where Richter would find an Axe. Its item crash involves Maria riding Byakko, the giant white tiger. The tiger starts on ground level, then turns around at the end of the screen and races mid-screen, then reaches the end again, turns around, and races at the top of the screen. In the ending for Maria Mode, when Maria blames Dracula for "being so mean to everyone" regarding his defeat, the cat is heard growling at him. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night When defeated, a Witch will turn into a small black cat and scurry away at full speed along the floor, inflicting minimal damage to the player if they stand on its path. This ability would return in later incarnations, such as in ''Aria of Sorrow, although in those cases the cat would merely appear for aesthetics and not deal any damage at all. Wearing the Cat-Eye Circlet allows Alucard to restore some HP by being hit by these small critters. However, other feline enemies, such as the Lion or the Black Panther, will still deal full damage, nonetheless. ''Castlevania: Symphony of the Night'' (Saturn) The Cat in the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night is not a sub-weapon and does not resemble the Cat found in Rondo of Blood. Instead, it's a spell that Maria can use at any time. Maria calls upon the spirit of Byakko, the white tiger, which allows her to cast a great spell of flames that come out of her hands. Maria is invulnerable while the spell is being cast. ''Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Student Witches can toss purple cats at Soma. When absorbing their souls he can duplicate this ability, which is similar to Maria's Cat sub-weapon. However, it is blue (to match Soma's color), unlike Maria's white-striped tiger cat. Soma has ⅛ chance to throw a kitten instead of an adult cat. This is merely an aesthetic change, however, as it doesn't change its attack power. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow As in the previous game, Soma can absorb a Student Witch's soul to give him the ability to release a charging black cat. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Maria's black and white cat is released and charges at enemies. In this game, it keeps on running through enemies instead of bouncing off of them. It also deals Electric damage, causing massive damage to armor type enemies, which are vulnerable to its ground based attack. The cat stops moving once it hits a wall and then disappears. It also disappears once its time has run out. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles In ''The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night, Maria's cat behaves more like it did in the original Rondo of Blood and its 2.5D remake. It tries to jump over ledges and attacks enemies multiple times if they get in its way. For its Item Crash, a giant symbol for Byakko, the white tiger, appears and then the tiger appears behind Maria. For a time, whenever she attacks using her owls, tiger's claw swipe marks appear at various distances in front of her. ''Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Maria's Cat appears as it does in ''Portrait of Ruin and deals out Thunder damage. Item Data Gallery Artworks Byakko.png|'Cat' from the Japanese Rondo of Blood instruction booklet Por pic 30.jpg|Maria, Byakko and Richter from an official Portrait of Ruin wallpaper Por pic 28.jpg|Charlotte and Maria with Byakko from an official Portrait of Ruin wallpaper Maria Renard - Grimoire of Souls - 01.png|Maria and her four sacred beasts from Grimoire of Souls Animations Sub-weapon AoS Student Witch.gif|Student Witch soul from Aria of Sorrow DOS Student Witch.gif|'Student Witch' soul from Dawn of Sorrow POR Byakko.gif|'Byakko' from Portrait of Ruin DXC Cat.gif|'Cat' from The Dracula X Chronicles SOTN Cat.gif|'Cat' from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night J Byakko Call Maria.gif|'Byakko Call' from Judgment HD Bai Hu.gif|'Bai Hu' from Harmony of Despair Item Crash Saturn Byakko.gif|'Byakko' from the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of the Night DXC Cat 2.gif|'Cat' Item Crash from The Dracula X Chronicles SOTN Cat 2.gif|'Cat' Item Crash from from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night Trivia *Byakko was originally a Chinese constellation known as Bái Hǔ the White Tiger. It was one of the "Four Symbols" and represented the West and the Autumn season. See also *Cat (Order of Ecclesia) Category:Animals Category:Bullet Souls Category:Fire Spells Category:Lightning Assets Category:Summoning Spell Category:Sub-Weapons Category:Aria of Sorrow Items Category:Dawn of Sorrow Items Category:Dracula X Chronicles Items Category:Harmony of Despair Items Category:Judgment Items Category:Portrait of Ruin Items Category:Rondo of Blood Items Category:Symphony of the Night Items